Screw the youth obsessed culture we live in. Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to go back in time and and re-live my 20s all over again. The 30s are where it’s at, baby!

Here’s what I love the most about this exciting, vibrant and opportunity-filled time in my life:

I’m experienced, but not yet jaded
I’ve lived a bit. I’ve travelled and studied. I’ve met some great people. I’ve met some pr*cks. I have a nice degree of experience that serves to whisper a warning in my ear when I’m about to make a mistake. But I’m still open enough to not be completely stuck in my ways. I haven’t become that jaded that I won’t try new things, or can’t change my mind on things.

In the words of Erykah Badu “The man who knows something, knows that he knows nothing at all”. The more you know, the more you realise how little you really do know in the scheme of things. That’s not a defeatist statement, it’s almost reassuring actually. I don’t feel the pressure to know it all because I know that nobody does, and nobody possibly could. If anything, it feels quite freeing.

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READ – Getting Older…And Happier

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I’m financially focused
Three words I never thought I’d use to describe myself, but it’s true! In my 20s, I was so busy being anti-corporate, anti-consumerism, anti-bloody-everything that I was quickly on the fast track to ending up with nothing.

Being financially focused doesn’t mean I’ve turned into an asshole who is financially obsessed. There’s a world of difference between the two. For me, it came down to not wanting to rent for the rest of my life, and creating a business that was fulfilling creatively, as well as monetarily. That’s what having a financial focus means to me.

As gay guys, we might not have kids to look after us when we get older. I don’t want to burden anyone, and I definitely don’t want to end up in state care. Taking control of the financial side of life hopefully means that I will have a degree of control over my life – whatever direction it takes into the future. That control is priceless.

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READ – Why I’ll Never Be Instagay Hot (& Why I’m Totally OK With It)

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I’m still hot-ish
I don’t know why we only idolise young guys in their 20s. Sure, they’re hot. But so are guys of all ages, sizes, shapes and races. Creating beauty ideals focused predominantly on age doesn’t make sense, because well, everyone gets older. No one stays the same age, so it’s kind of pointless, and not really sustainable to make age a central tenet of our beauty ideal.

Looks don’t have an expiration date. In fact, I think that as I’m getting older, I’m getting hotter. My attitude towards myself and my body is definitely mellowing. I’m more accepting of the body I have and more realistic about the body I can achieve (through working out and eating well). These are positive developments. My 20s were filled with body image angst and insecurity. Sure my face was smooth and wrinkle free, but underneath it all, I was a bit of a mess.

I’m enjoying watching my body change. The early signs of a few wrinkles doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I remember being in my mid-teens and wanting to look older. I always had older friends throughout my 20s, and now I feel like I’m starting to grow into the age and body that I always wanted to be.